WRITING HELP. TIPS

⋆ body language i

o. writing help!
( BODY LANGUAGE! )

'   to help you
identify    a
character's
    body language '

▂▂▂▂▂▂

( note that people who are high self monitors will notice these behaviors more often and can adapt to different conversations more than those who are low self monitors, who may not realize that they are reacting inappropriately in a situation. )

second note that we only remember a fraction of dialogue and conversation, what sticks in our mind is how a person made us feel during the conversation

women, parents, good teachers, and actors are more sensitive to gestures and expressions and noticing subconscious behaviors in others.

please note that some of this may not apply to everyone, keep in mind where these social situations could change for your neurodivergent, mentally ill, and disabled characters

under the cut, i go through non-verbal interaction, gestures, personal space, and eye contact.

NON-VERBAL INTERACTIONS AND GESTURES!

listen, my guy, you can't forget the other interactions in a conversation that aren't dialogue because it all connects to the point that the non-verbal part of a conversation is in all interactions and completely unavoidable

(1) these are the little noises people make in between words that they don't realize they're making. also the gestures to emphasize an argument or help move along the dialogue.

(2) NVB can be used to repeat what has been said verbally ( hand gestures about directions or showing visually what happened - think of children telling a story, the hands will draw what's happening even if exaggerated ).

(3) NVB can also substitute what's said verbally ( using a gesture that has a meaning, sighing or making some kind of noise to convey frustration or another emotion )

(4) there's also regulation, when you're done speaking you can gesture to the other to speak or tell someone goodbye or hello. also when someone wants to leave a conversation, NVB will show that too with touching things around them, fidgeting with their things, leaning forward if they are in a chair like they are about to stand.

(5) changing in pitch, pauses, fidgeting, messing with clothing, having to move around, hand gestures, people aren't just standing still all the time, and the gestures do have a meaning - they can complement the words or tear them down all together

(6) if someone is telling a lie, they're hand movements and body language may not match their words, this also happens when someone is thinking of what to say. they can drag out their vowels and fix their clothing, or their hand gestures won't add to the dialogue. an example of that would be shaking their head when they mean to say 'yes'.

(7) when someone's words contradict their gestures and expressions, this means their thoughts aren't connected and they are thinking them up on the spot. they will avoid eye contact to focus not on the conversation

(8) if someone is more comfortable in a conversation, their movements won't show the anxiety that fidgeting creates, it's more open: greater and quicker gestures. Also, people who are closer will be able to synchronize their NVB without any thought - walking in the same pattern, quickly understanding what someone means through their gestures, expressions, or pauses without explanation